Dispensing means



March 16, 1965 K. J. CHlcHEs'n-:R ETAL .3,173,431

DISPENSING MEANS KENNETH J. CHICHESTER WILLIAM F. CLARKE BY /NvE/vransMarch 16, 1965 K. J. cHlcHEsTER ETAL.

DISPENSING MEANS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. '7, 1962 KENNETH J.CHICHESTER WILLIAM F. CLARKE Arron/vn March 16, 1965 K. J. cHlcHEsTERE'rAl. 3,173,431

msPENsING MEANS Filed Dec. '7, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 KENNETH J.CHICHESTER WILLIAM F. CLARKE /lvvE/vroRs ATTORNEY United States PatentDISPENSING'MEANS Kenneth al. Chichester, Stamford, Conn., and William'E. Clarke, Larchmont, `NY., assignors to `Universal Match Corporation,St. Louis, Mo., a corporationof Delaware Filed Dec. 7, 1962, Ser. No.242,943 14 Claims. (Cl. M13- 3) Thisinventionreltes to articledispensing'rneans, and lmore particularly to a coin dispensing systern.

Coin dispensing systems are customarily included in change makingdevices. Examples `of these are devices for returning to a'depoistor aplurality of small denomination coins in' exchange for a largedenomination coin or paper money, and devices Ifor returning to `adepositor goods and small denomination coins in exchange for a largedenomination coin 'or paper money.

An obj'ect'of this invention `is the provision of a system for theaccurate dispensation of a predetermined number of coins. l

Another object of this invention is the provision of a vsystem for theaccurate dispensation of a `predetermined number of coins of differentdenomination from a single supply of intermixedV coins of dilerentdenominations.

A feature of this invention is `an article dispensing sys- 'tern havinga reservoir storing an intermixed plurality of 'articles of'dfferentsizes; means for extracting predetermined numbers of articles of eachsize from said reservoir; and means for dispensing predetermined numbers`of' articles from said extractedpredetermined numbers of articles.

Other and `further objects and features of this invention will be moreclearly apparent by reference to the following -clescription'when takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front view of the instant coin dispensing device; A Y

FIGURE 2 isa side view'of the device of FIGURE l;

VFIGURE 3 is a side view in section taken along line S-'fof FIGURE 1 ofthe coin sorting runway;

FIGURE4 is a front view of a detail of FIGURE l;

FIGURES 15A, 5B, and 57C are rside Views insection taken along lines5A\-SA, SBF-5B and 5C-5C respectively of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a side view in section taken along 'line '6-6 of FIGUREA ofa coin return runway;

FlGU'RE-7 is a top view in section taken along line 7'-7 O'FIGURE 4 of acoin sorting portion of therun- Way system;

FIGURE 8 is a schematic electrical diagram of a detailof'4 an embodimentof this invention; and

FIGURE 9 is a schematic electrical diagram of an embodiment of thisinvention.

`Referring now to the drawing and particularly FIG- URES l and 2, 'thecoin dispensing system embodying this invention includes a baseplate 10which is inclined at an angle, e.g. degrees, to the vertical. AfliXed tothe lower portion ofthe front face 12 of the 'baseplate by screws 14 isa 'hopper I6 whichho'lds a jumbled mass of coins (not shown) of variousdenominations, e.g. dimes, nickels and'quarters. The center 20 of thebaseplate'is cut out and a pickup disc 22 of the substantially samediameter is mounted therein. The pickup disc 22 has la peripheralannular groove or recess 24 in its front face 26. The annular recess 24is of rectangular ice cross-section and has 'xedftherein apluralitylo'fupstand- `ing pins Zwhich-are disposed inspaced-apartrelationshop. The width of this annular recess is slightly larger thanthe diameter of 'the largest coin beiirghandled. The depth of thisannular recess `is slightly smaller 'than the thickness of the thinnestcoin being handled. The pickup disc 22 is'couple'd by a shaft 3l? to'amotor 32, and is suitably journaled vto the baseplate lti'for rotationwith respect thereto. As the pickup disc'rotates, in thecounterclockwise direction as seen in FIGURE l, through the mass ofcoins, individual coins, e.g. LlSA, 13E, fall into the annular recess,are abutted bythe pins 28, and are carried upwardly.

A coin sorting runway system 3e is provided as an extension to the`baseplate and pickup disc assembly. The function ofthis system is tosort by denomination the various coins which are `extracted by thepickup ldisc from the supply of vcoins in the hopper 16. The sortingrunway system 34 consists of a bar portion-36 of substantiallyrectangular cross-section, the front face of which is inclinedat anangle, eg. l5 degrees, to the vertical. The length of the bar portionSois also tilted with respect to the horizontal, so that as seen inFIGURES l and 4 the right end' is higher than the left end. A `runwayrecess 38V of rectangular cross-section is milled 4into the lengthlofthe frn'tface of the bar. The height of this recess 38is slightlylarger than the diameter of the `largest coin being handled. The depthvof this recess is slightly larger than the` thickness of the thickestcoin being handled. The bar is joined-to the baseplate so that VtheV'bar recess 3S is tangental Vto and merges with the annular recess V24.An' L-shaped covery plate 40 is fixed to the front faces of the barportion andthe -`basep'late It) atth'e junction of the runway recess'SSand the annular recess 24J The legpo'rtion 42 ofthe L-shaped cover plateis Xed to lthe upper faces ofthe bar portion and the baseplate by screws44. The foot portion 46 of the platey 40 is directed inwardly into therunway recess 38 and the Vannular recessZ-ft.` The foot portion 46 thusguides all of thecoins which have been extracted by the pickup disc 22from the annular recess 24 into the runway recess 33. A central portion48-of the foot portion '46, however, is cut away to pass the -pins 28 asthe'disc 22rotates. As the coins enter and vroll down the recess 3S,they are tiltedwith respec'tto thefvertical and are supported on theiredges by the ybottoni or foot BSF of the runway `recess and areseparated on their back faces by'tli'e back or rear SSR of Atherunwayrecess. 'I `his may also be seen in FIGURE 5A. Acover plate VSli'isprovided over fthe upper portion of Vthe runway recess for the `lengthofthe recess to'prevent accidental loss of the coins from'the recess. Theplate 5t) is liked to the barby screws-52.

A plurality o'fjadditio'nall recesses is milled Vintothe runway recess38 for the purpose of sorting the coins by denomination. The firstsorting recess 54along the path of the coins separates out the dimes,and the second sorting recess 56 separates out the nickels. The coinsremaining onthe runway recess 38 are quarters. The first sorting recess54 is milled into the rear of the runway recess. The rear 54K of thefirstV sorting recess is tilted at an angle to the rear of the runwayrecess, e.g. l5 degrees, and-thus 'Vat'a greater angle to the vertical,e.g. 30 degrees. The height of the lirst sorting recess 'Se is madeslightly larger than the diameter of dimes and smaller than the diameterof nickels. Thus, as seen in FIGURES B and 5C, when a dime rolls downthe runway recess 33 to the first sorting recess 54, the upper portionof the dime will not be separated by the rear 54K of the runway recess,and the upper portion of the dime will tip into the rst sorting recess.The lower portion of the dime will thus be swung away from the foot 38Fof the runway recess, and the dime will slide out of the runway recessand fall. However, nickels and quarters which roll down the runwayrecess to the first sorting recess have a diameter which is greater thanthe height of the first sorting recess. These coins will continue to besupported by the rear 38R of the runway recess, will not tip into thetirst sorting recess, and will continue to roll down the runway recess.

The second sorting recess 56 is further along the path of the coins asthey roll down ther unway recess. This second sorting recess is similarto the rst sorting recess except that the height of the second sortingrecess is slightly greater than the diameter of the nickelsand less thanthe diameter of the quarters. When the nickels reach the second sortingrecess they tip into it and-tall out of the runway recess. However, thequarters continue to roll along the runway recess past the secondsorting recess.

Three counting recess systems 58D, 58N and ESQ are respectively disposedadjacent each of the sorting recesses and the end of the runway recess.The purpose of each of the counting recess systems is to respectivelyreceive the coins which have been sortedby` denomination and torespectively store a predetermined number of coins. A return runway isprovided for each counting recess system to return to the hopper all ofthe coins received by the system over the predetermined number.

Each of the counting recess systems is disposed below the bar portion 36and is formed as an extension thereof. The systems are comprised in acommon baseplate 57 into which three recess systems are milled. The rstrecess system 58D is provided to process dimes. The length of the upperportion 60D of the recess is tilted from the horizontal and is parallelto the runway recess 3S above. The rear 60DR of the upper portion 60D ofthe recess is substantially vertical. An intermediate portion 62D of therecess is vertical, and at its upper end merges with the upper portion60D and at its lower end divides into a vertical counting recess 64D anda return recess 66D which is reversely tilted from the horizontal. Abent cover plate 68D is fixed to the baseplate 57 by screws 70D andcovers the upper recess portion 60D and the lower portion of the runwayrecess 38 thereabove. As the dimes fall from the runway recess 38 aboveat the first sorting recess 54 they are caught by the first cover plate68D and lguided into the upper portion 60D of the rst counting recesssystem. The dimes roll down the upper portion 66D into the intermediateportion 62D and into the counting recess 64D. The central axis of thecounting recess 64D is slightly displaced from the central axis of theintermediate portion 62D; however, the dimes fall into the countingrecess 64D rather than into the return recess 66D.

An obstruction means, which will be described hereinafter, is disposedto obstruct the lower end of the counting recess 64D, and as each dimefalls into the counting recess it is supported therein by the dimesbelow, which in turn are supported by the obstruction means. When apredetermined number of dimes has fallen into the counting recess, thetop of the topmost dime 18DT is level with or slightly higher than thereturn recess 66D. All further dimes which fall through the intermediaterecess 62D are deflected by the topmost dime in the counting recess andpass into the return recess 66D. A cover plate 72D is titted over aportion of the return recess 66D and the counting recess 64D to preventthe loss of the dimes from these recesses. An extension '72DE of thiscover plate is formed with a Ushaped cross-section as seen in FIGURE 6.ri`his extension provides a return runway for the dimes from the returnrecess 66D to the hopper 16. The length of the return runway 72DE istilted from the horizontal, and its open lower end is disposed above thehopper 16.

The second recess system 58N is provided to process nickels. This systemis similar to the tirst recess system 58D and is disposed below therunway recess 38 at the second sorting recess 56. It also comprises anupper recess portion N, an intermediate recess portion 62N, a countingrecess 64N, a return recess 66N, an upper cover plate 68N, and a lowercover plate 72N with a U cross-section extension 72NE which guidesoverflow nickels back to the hopper 16.

The third recess system 58Q is provided at the leftlower end of therunway recess 38 to process quarters. This system is somewhat similar tothe other systems. However, since there is no sorting recess forquarters, an extension 50E is provided on the runway recess cover plateSil to guide the quarters into an intermediate recess portion 62Q. Theintermediate recess portion leads to a counting recess 64Q and a returnrecess 66Q. A lower cover plate 72Q is provided to cover the countingrecess 64Q and the return recess 66Q and includes an extension 72QE toprovide a return runway for surplus quarters to the hopper 16.

It will thus be seen that the pickup disc extracts intermixed nickelsdimes and quarters in a random sequence from the hopper 16 and feedsthem to the runway recess 38. As these coins roll down the runwayrecess, the first sorting recess 54 tips out the dimes from the runwayrecess into the rst recess system; the second sorting recess 56 tips outthe nickels from the runway recess into the second recess system; andthe quarters roll out of the end of the runway recess into the thirdrecess system. When the predetermined number of coins in each countingrecess 64D, 64N, 64Q, respectively, is collected, the surplus coins arediverted into the return runway and fed back to the hopper.

A reciprocating slide assembly is provided for each of the countingrecesses to alternatively obstruct the bottom end of the counting recessand count a predetermined quantity of coins, and to unblock the bottomend of the counting recess to dispense a predetermined quantity ot coinsfrom the stored quantity of coins. The dispensed quantity may be equalto or less than the stored quantity. A slide assembly is illustrated inFIGURE 1 in conjunction with the nickel counting recess 64N. A slide 74Nis suitably mounted for reciprocation behind the baseplate 57 at thebottom of the counting recess 64N. A horizontal slot 76N is cut throughthe baseplate 57 and into the counting recess 64N at the bottom of therecess. Another horizontal slot 78N is cut through the baseplate 57 andinto the counting recess at the middle of the counting recess. A pin 86Nis fixed to the slide '74N and disposed in the lower slot 76N andanother pin 82N is xed to the slide and disposed in the upper slot 78N.When the slide 74N is reciprocated fully to the left, as seen in FIGUREl, the lower pin 80N obstructs the counting recess 64N while the upperpin 82N clears the recess. When the slide is reciprocated fully to theright, the upper pin 82N obstructs the counting recess while the lowerpin 86N clears the recess. The slide is biased into its left or countingposition by a tension spring 84N. The slide is actuated into its rightor dispensing position by a; solenoid 86N. Thus, in this embodiment asseen in the nickel counting recess of FIGURE l, the slide and countingrecess will store eight nickels, and will dispense four nickels for eachreciprocation cycle of the slide.

A snap action switch assembly is provided for each of the countingrecesses to condition the motor 32 of the pickup disc 22 for operation.A snap action switch $81), 88N, 88Q is mounted behind `the baseplate 57at the top of each counting recess 64D, 64N, 64Q, respectively. Considerthe dime assembly. A circular slot 90D is cut through the btaseplate 57and into the top of the countingv -to a ground returns.

`three dimers.

5 recess Sal) and the cover plate 72D. The end of the actuator arm 92Dof the switch 83D is disposed in this slot. As each dime passes throughthe counting recess 64D, it abuts and carries the end of the actuatorarm 92D downwardly, swinging the end through the length of the slot 96Dand beyond'the counting recess etD. When the dime falls beyond the endof the arm 92D, the end `of the arm swings back into the countingrecess. The

'last (the sixth) llDT of the predetermined number of dimesis supportedby the rest of the `dimes in the counting recess, does not fall beyondthe end of the actuator arm, and thus holds the actuator arm down.

As seen in FIGURE 8, the three snap action switches 83D, 88N land @SQare connected in parallel in the norlmallyclosed condition between B+and one end of the coil of la relay 9d. The other end of the relay iscoupled Thus, whenever any of the actuator arms of the :switches is up,that switch will be closed, and the relay 9d will be energized. Thenormally open `Contact set iid-NO of the relay 94 connects one terminalof the pickup disc motor 32 to B+. The other terminal of the motor isconnected toa ground return. Whenever the relay 9d is energized, themotor 32 rotates the pickup disc 22.

ln the illustrated embodiment of FIGURE 9, it is desired to use thedispensing machine in combination with a dollar bill accepting device todispense a dollars worth of change in the form of -two quarters, fournickels, and At the start of the first cycle of operation, the lowerpins Stil), 89N, SQ obstruct the bottom of each respective countingrecess 64D, 64N, WQ; the hopper is illed with a mixture of nickels,dimes yand quarters; and the counting recesses are empty. The actuatorarm of each of thenormally closed snap action switches 38D,

88N, ddQis up, :closing its switch, and connecting the motor relay 9d,via a `time control 96, to B+. The normally open contact set Qd-NO ofthe relay 94 is closed, coupling the pickup disc motor 32 to B+. Thetime control 9o is a recycling device which is normally closed, and isadapted to lopen-the circuit permanently if it runs without interruptionfor more than a predetermined interval of time. A control of this typeis manufactured by the industrial Timer Corporation of Newark, NJ.,under catalogue nu-mber 90-305. This device is used to prevent the motorfrom running too long in the event of an empty hopper or othermalfunction. As the motor turns, the pickup disc extracts coins atrandom which are fed into the runway recess 38. The coins are sorted bythe rst and second coin sorting recesses 54, 56. As each coin fallsthrough a counting recess 64D, 64N or 64Q it momentarily opens therespective snap action switch 38D, 88N or SSQ. The motor 32 continuesrunning since notv all of the switches are open for any extended periodof time. As each counting recess is tilled with the respectivepredetermined number of coins, e.g. six dimes, or eight nickels or fourquarters, the top-most coin holds down the respective snap action switchactuator arm and deflects suibsequent coins falling through therespective intermediate recess portion 62D, 62N or 62Q into the returnrecess 66D, 66N or MQ and return runway 72DE, 'YNE or TZQE back to thehopper i6. When all of the counting recesses are lille-d with therespective .predetermined number of coins, all of the actuator arms areheld down' and all the switches are open, `de-energizing the motor relay94. The normally open Contact 4set 94NO opens, de-energizing the lmotor32. A normally closed contact set 94N() connects an associated articlereceiving means 93, eg. a dollar bill receiver, to B+ through the timecontrol 96, conditioning it to receive an article. When the article,e.g. a valid dollar bill, has been received and accepted by the articlereceiving means, this article receiving means closes a switch 166 whichconnects one end of each of the dispensing solenoids 86D, 86N and SSQ toB+ through the time device; the other ends of the dispensing solenoidsare respectively connected to the ground return. The dispensingvsolenoids are thus energized and each yoperates its respectivedispensing slide 74D, 74N, MQ toits right hand position todispense thosecoins which are held in the respective counting recess between the lowerpin andthe upper pin. The coins'fall into a catch chute (which is notshown) andpass'into a curponithe outside of the machine where the lcoinsare accessible to the user. When the switch ltlti is opened, the slidesare restored'by their respective springs to their left hand positionpermitting those coins remaining in the counting recesses to fall to therespective lower pins 89D, 36N, SQ. The actuator arms 'of :the snapswitches are released Vby the topmost coins, closing these switches, andthe motor 32 lis energized again, rotating-the pickup 'disc to extractmore coins from hopper for sorting. lt will be-noted that .the countingrecessesstill contain another dollars. Worth o'fchange after they havedispensed a previous dollars worth. When the'hopper runs out-ofcoins,the Itime control is operated by the motor 32 for more than itspredetermined period 'of time, `causing the timecontrol 'to open themain B+ circuit. The'machine will then neither make change, `nor acceptdollar bills. The last Vdollars `worthot change left inthe countingrecesses will thus never be dispensed by the machine. Although a singleupper Islot 7S andra single lower slot V76 havetbeen shown for eachcounting recess, 'additional slots may be cut into each counting recessat coin diameter spacings, and the pins S2 and lniaybe adjustablysecured to the slide "i4 so that these pins may be selectively insertedin any of these slots. By this means the number of coins to be countedand the number of coin's to be .dispensed may be varied. For example, ifthepinttlN is disposed-in a slot cutting into the counting recess 64N atthe location indicated in FGURE. 1 at Y, the recess will storethreenickels; and if the pin 82N is disposed in a slot cut into the'recess attheflocation X, the recess will dispense one nickel.

We havethus shown `and describedvour invention, but we desire it to beunderstood that it is not coniined to the partieuar forms or usafesshown anddescribed, 'the sar-me lbeing merely illustrative, and thatourV invention may be carried out in'other ways without-departing fromthe spirit of our invention, and, therefore, we claim broadly the rightto employ all equivaientin'strumentalities Corning Within the scopeofthe appended claims, and, by

means ot'which, objects of our invention are attained and new resultsare accomplished, as it is obvious that the particularembodimentshereinwshown and described are only some of the many that canbe yemployed to `attain these cbjeetsand to accomplish these results.

What is claimed is:

1. An article dispensing system comprising primary means for'storing aplurality of each of a given number of different types of articles in arandom, intermixed relationship;

means for sorting the different articles by type;

means for transporting aV random sequence of the articles fromsaidprim'ary storingV means to said sorting means;

intermediate means for storing a` predeterminedl quantity `respectivelyof each type of article by type and for rejecting any surplusage'overeach'predet'ermined quantity of each type of article;

means for transportingthe sorted articles by type to said intermediatestoring means;

means for transporting the rejected `surplusage of Veach type of articleto said primary storage means; and

meansf'or effecting the dispensation of a predetermined quantityrespectively from the predetermined quantity of each type of articlewhich has been stored by said intermediate storingmeans.

2. A multidenominational coin dispensing system comprising primary meansfor storing a plurality of each denomination of coin in a random,intermixed relationship; means for sorting coins by denomination;

means for transporting a denominationally random sequence of coins fromsaid primary storage means to said sorting means;

intermediate means for storing by denomination a predetermined quantityof each denomination of coin, and for rejecting any surplusage over eachpredetermined quantity;

means for transporting by denomination the sorted coins to saidintermediate storing means; means for transporting the rejectedsurplusage of each denomination of coin to said primary storage means;

means for effecting the dispensation of a predetermined quantity of eachdenomination of coin from the predetermined quantity of eachdenomination of coin which has been stored by said intermediate storingmeans.

3. A system according to claim 2 further including means for preciudingfurther operation of said means for transporting coins from said primarystorage means when said intermediate storing means has stored less thanthe respective predetermined number of any denomination of coin after apredetermined interval of operation of said means for transporting coinsfrom said primary storing means.

4. A system according to claim 2 further including means for precludingfurther operation of said means for transporting coins from said primarystoring means when said intermediate storing means has stored therespective predetermined quantity of each denomination of coin.

5. A system according to claim 2 further including means for actuatingsaid means for effecting the dispensation of coins.

6. A system according to claim 2 further including normally inoperablemeans for receiving an exchange article;

control means coupled to said exchange article receiving means,including sensing means for sensing the storage by said intermediatestoring means of the predetermined quantity of each denomination ofcoin, and in response thereto conditioning said exchange articlereceiving means for operation.

7. A system according to claim 2 further including means for receivingand accepting an exchange article,

said receiving means being coupled to said dispensation effecting meansand actuating the latter in response to accepting an exchange article.

8. In a multidenominational coin dispensing system having primary meansfor storing a plurality of each denomination of coin in a randomintermixed relationship, sorting means for sorting coins bydenomination, means for storing coins by denomination, means fortransporting coins from the primary means to the sorting means:

intermediate means for storing by denomination a predetermined quantityof each denomination of coin, and for rejecting any surplusage over eachpredetermined quantity;

means for transporting by denomination the sorted coins from the sortingmeans to said intermediate means;

means for transporting the rejected surplusage of coins from saidintermediate means to the primary means.

9. A multidenominational coin dispensing system including:

primary means for storing a plurality of each denomination of coin in arandom, intermixed relationship; sorting means for sorting coins bydenomination; means for storing coins by denomination; rst means fortransporting coins from said primary means to said sorting means;intermediate means tor storing by denomination a 3 predeterminedquantity of each denomination of coin; second means for transporting bydenomination the sorted coins from the said sorting means to saidintermediate means; and means, coupled to said intermediate means andsaid rst means, for precluding further operation of the irst means whensaid intermediate means has stored less than the respective quantity ofany denomination of coin after a predetermined interval of operation ofsaid first means. 10. An article receiving and multidenominational coindispensing system including:

primary means for storing a plurality of each denomination of coin in arandom, intermixed relationship;

means for sorting coins by denomination;

means for transporting coins from said primary means to said sortingmeans;

intermediate means for storing by denomination a predetermined quantityof each denomination of coin;

means for transporting by denomination the sorted coins from saidsorting means to said intermediate means;

means for effecting the dispensation of a predetermined quantity ofcoins from the quantity of coins which has been stored by saidintermediate means;

normally inoperable means for receiving an article;

control means, coupled to said article receiving means, includingsensing means for sensing the storage by said intermediate means of thepredetermined number of each denomination of coin, and in responsethereto conditioning said article receiving means for operation.

l1. A system according to claim 10 wherein:

said article receiving means includes initially operative means forreceiving an article and subsequently operative means for accepting thereceived article;

said article receiving means being coupled to said dispensationeffecting means and actuating the latter in response to accepting anarticle.

12. ln a multidenominational coin dispensing system the combination ofprimary means for storing a plurality of each denomination of coin in arandom, intermixed relationship;

a rotatable disc adapted to lift, when rotating, coins in a random,intcrmixed relationship from said primary means to a sorting means;

said sorting means comprising an inclined runway provided with aplurality of consecutive apertures, each aperture being of a sizeslightly larger than the diameter of the coin denomination which is tobe separated from the random mix so that a respective coin denominationpasses through a respective aperture, and said apertures increasing insize in a direction away from said rotatable disc;

a plurality of storage means, one associated with each denomination ofcoin, disposed for receiving from said sorting means a respective coindenomination and each such storage means adapted to store apredetermined quantity of coins;

a plurality of transport means, one disposed between each of saidstorage means and said primary means, for transporting surplusage overthe respective predetermined quantity of coins from a respective storagemeans to said primary means,

and means coupled to each of said storage means for dispensing therefromsaid predetermined quantity of coins.

13. In a multidenominational coin dispensing system as set forth inclaim 12 wherein each of said transport means comprises an inclined railfor guiding surplus coins to said primary means.

14. In a multidenominational coin dispensing system as set forth inclaim l2 wherein each of said storage means stores the respective coinson edge, and each of said References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATESPATENTS 2,567,900 9/51 Winkler 133-3 2,750,949 6/56 Kulo 133-8 2,889,9606/59 Brancato et al 221-166 1 0 References Cited by the Applicant UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 2,877,776 3/59 Hoke. 3,079,934 3/ 63 Thompson. 3,086,5364/63 Klopp.

SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, clng Primary Examiner.

ERNEST A. FALLER, JR., Examiner.

1. AN ARTICLE DISPENSING SYSTEM COMPRISING PRIMARY MEANS FOR STROING APLURALITY OF EACH OF A GIVEN NUMBER OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF ARTICLES IN ARANDOM, INTERMIXED RELATIONSHIP; MEANS FOR SORTING THE DIFFERENTARTICLES BY TYPE; MEANS FOR TRANSPORTING A RANDOM SEQUENCE OF THEARTICLES FROM SAID PRIMARY STORING MEANS TO SAID SORTING MEANS;INTERMEDIATE MEANS FOR STORING A PREDETERMINED QUANTITY RESPECTIVELY OFEACH TYPE OF ARTICLES BY TYPE AND FOR REJECTING AND SURPLUSAGE OVER EACHPREDETERMINED QUANTITY OF EACH TYPE OF ARTICLE; MEANS FOR TRANSPORTINGTHE SORTED ARTICLES BY TYPE TO SAID INTERMEDIATE STORING MEANS; MEANSFOR TRANSPORTING THE REJECTED SURPLUSAGE OF EACH TYPE OF ARTICLE OF SAIDPRIMARY STORAGE MEANS; AND MEANS FOR EFFECTING THE DISPENSATION OF APREDETERMINED QUANTITY RESPECTIVELY FROM THE PREDETERMINED QUANTITY OFEACH TYPE OF ARTICLE WHICH HAS BEEN STORED BY SAID INTERMEDIATE STORINGMEANS.